THE SEXES OF EVOLUTIONContinental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, and Evolutionary Theory

September 24-26, 2009University of Memphis

The topic of the 2009 Spindel Conference joins three broad streams of contemporary
thought: Continental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy and Evolutionary Theory. It is
not uncommon for two of these research streams to meet; more rare is the confluence
of all three. The chief aim of the 2009 Spindel Conference is to showcase the contributions
of philosophers working at the important and timely junction of all of these philosophical
traditions. This work addresses the central question animating the conference: What
can Continental Philosophy contribute to our understanding of the feminist issues
raised by evolutionary theory, broadly understood?

Continental Philosophy and Evolutionary TheoryNineteenth-century European thought was captivated by the possibilities of evolutionary
theory for human self understanding. In the aftermath of twentieth century political
programs of genocide, eugenics, and Social Darwinism, contemporary European philosophy
traces the genealogies of these catastrophes, exposing the scientifically cloaked
social warfare and biased accounts of the social and organismic world found in the
relevant versions of evolutionary theory. Genealogy/archaeology, philosophies of difference,
ethical philosophy, new Marxianisms, phenomenology and post-colonial philosophy all
address evolutionary theory anew and in suggestive ways. But they have generally not
taken sexual difference or any of its neighboring notions to be matters central to
these discussions, leaving them to psychoanalysis, anthropology, sociology and literature,
all of which have their own evolutionary moments. Potential resources include: Schelling,
Hegel, Marx, Husserl, Heidegger, Bergson, Canguilhem, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Foucault,
Habermas, Ricoeur, Simondon and Deleuze. More recently, relevant work has been done
by: Michel Serres, Henri Atlan, Peter Sloterdijk, Bruno Latour, Pierre Sonigo, Isabelle
Stengers, Fran?ois Dagognet, and Giorgio Agamben.

Feminist Philosophy and Evolutionary Theory Surprisingly, mainstream analytical philosophical work on contemporary evolutionary
theory devotes little thought to one of its central concepts, that of sex. Standard
works in analytical philosophy of evolutionary biology abound in mention of the term,
with little discussion either of the technical complexities in its definition or of
its purported meaning for human beings. Evolutionary biologists themselves study it
more closely than do philosophers of evolutionary biology. Of course, feminist philosophical
engagement with evolutionary theory makes categories of sex and gender central to
its analyses. Although it often has roots in the dialectical and materialist philosophies
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most contemporary feminist philosophy of
evolutionary thought is chiefly in the idiom of analytical philosophy. This is a rich
body of work that has raised questions whose importance continues to grow. But it
has not explored the full range of the deep conceptual resources found in European
philosophy for reflection on these questions.Continental Philosophy and Feminist Philosophy Intersections of contemporary Continental philosophy and feminist philosophy have
tended not to engage the tradition of evolutionary thought. This is unfortunate, for
many of its insights would interestingly be brought to bear upon evolutionary theory.
Moreover, in its psychoanalytic variants, Continental feminist thought has roots that
touch upon the questions of evolution through Freud's appropriation of certain nineteenth
century versions of evolutionary thinking. The time has come for an update.

Spindel 2009: Continental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy and Evolutionary TheoryIn addition to the theoretical configurations sketched above, each of which joins
two of the three fields that comprise our conference title, a group of philosophers
working at the intersection of all three fields has recently emerged. The 28th Spindel
Conference presents their freshest thought and takes stock of these new directions
in feminist philosophy of evolutionary theory that stem from the tradition of European
Philosophy. In this sesquicentennial year of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin
of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in
the Struggle for Life, the Spindel Conference gathers both top established researchers
and younger scholars to present their work on the significance to each other of evolutionary
theory, feminist philosophy and Continental philosophy.